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CIBN, NDIC worry over contract bank workers’ links with fraud cases

By Mathias Okwe, Asst. Business Editor ( Abuja)
11 September 2015   |   1:08 am
At least 75 per cent of banks insider related fraud cases are masterminded by contract staff engaged by concessionaire entities engaged by financial institutions , the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria ( CIBN) has stated.
PHOTO: www.peoplesdailyng.com

Otunba Debola Osibogun PHOTO: www.peoplesdailyng.com

At least 75 per cent of banks insider related fraud cases are masterminded by contract staff engaged by concessionaire entities engaged by financial institutions , the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria ( CIBN) has stated.

The revelation is coming on the heels of threat by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation ( NDIC) to sanction banks that engage in such practices as well as in the using of female staff members as puns to attract deposits through exploitation and debasement of womanhood, which runs counter to sound professional banking ethics.

These concerns were raised recently in Abuja when the CIBN president, Otunba Debola Osibogun and other council members of the institute visited the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim. according to a statement yesterday by the Corporation’s In a statement signed by NDIC’s Head of Public Communications Unit, Hadi Birchi, the corporation charged CIBN to take a closer look at the phenomenon of outsourcing and contract staff in banks to ensure healthy and sound practices in the banking industry.

The revelation, the NDIC boss also declared, has confirmed the corporation’s bank examination reports which have always indicated that the high incidences of fraud and forgeries in the banking system had been linked to outsourced or contract staff.

Umaru also said that in as much as regulators appreciated the necessity for banks to cut costs, it was incumbent on all stakeholders to fashion out capacity building and other strategies to motivate all employees to contribute positively, rather than engaging in criminal acts that impact adversely on the entire banking system.

The NDIC CEO also expressed concern about the plight of female employees in the banking industry. He noted that banks often engage female employees and set for them very high targets on deposit mobilisation and other asset creation ventures, which put undue pressure on them.

According to him, although some improvements had been recorded with regards to the situation, there was still need to provide a more conducive working environment in order to attract and retain a talented female workforce in the sector.

Osibogun regretted that over 75 per cent of fraud cases in the sector had been traced to outsourced bank staff who were neither professionals nor members of the CIBN.

While noting that the CIBN had no control over the banks, she disclosed that a committee of the institute was already working with heads of operations of banks on the challenges being posed by the outsourced staff and would soon submit its report to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for consideration.

The CIBN president also said the institute had been mandated as the agency for competency framework for banking industry by the CBN, adding that the CIBN had visited banks’ academies and had issued accreditation certificate to the academies of the First bank, Access Bank and Guarantee Trust Bank.

To further strengthen professionalism in the sector, Osibogun said that the institute had harmonised the industry code of conduct which had been signed by all workers of deposit money banks, adding that the institute was seeking co-operation of microfinance banks’ workers to sign the document According to her, the CIBN had strengthened its alliances with reputable local and foreign tertiary institutions for the linkage of its Associate Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) programmes.

She commended the management of NDIC for its continuous support to the institute and the corporation’s strategic investment in its human resources.

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